chasfh

I am now forced to root for the National League, dammit.

Why not, why not, WHY NOT!!!!!! We're going to have Jeimer for two years, his age 28 and 29 season, and given that our horizon to return to serious contention is probably three years, I don't think it would be a terrible idea to lock him up for that third year versus him leaving because we won't accede to his demands for multiple years at age thirty, with our having to start all over at 3B. Because if he's above average in 2022 and 2023, he's not going to come back on a mere one-year contract as a free agent. At that point, the deal to keep him would have to be years and years. I wouldn't want to guarantee anything to Jeimer beyond that right now, but I think a three-year deal with discretionary team options to take him through age 31 or 32 wouldn't be a terrible risk, and at more favorable money than if he were to have any All-Star seasons in the next two years. Despite that we've basically drafted or traded for just about every position player as a third baseman in the past few years, it's not as though we have anyone projected to be as good as he is banging on the door to take his job away anytime soon. All this said, I don't have strong feelings about it. I'd also be fine with letting him play his final two arb years and then taking our chances on the system or the market. But if the Tigers' preference is to boot Jeimer after two years no matter what, then not extending him is probably the right non-move.

That's essentially Tom's point.

Wood was the active pitcher when Longoria hit the home run. Tom's question is about the logic, not the rule. Wood obviously pitched longer and more effectively than Rogers, so by logic, he was more deserving of being assigned the win.

Good question.

New day, same ****.

Down 5-0, the Rays close the deficit to 5-3 with three innings left. This is baseball. Never say die until they’re dead.

I’ll grant COVID was going to suck no matter who was president, but it wasn’t going to suck at the same level as when Trump was president, throwing every obstacle he could at people trying to get it under control, especially in the early days. I would like well-qualified health officials, like Dr Fauci, making public health decisions. Call me crazy.

All depends on bad we want to lock him up through age 32. I don’t know how well he’s gonna age, given how immobile he is right how at 27. I might give him three years with team options.

What I said is true. I neglected to add that it didn’t work so well.

At this point I’ll take anyone who will just show up, or not go dark after they tell you they’ll put a price quote together.

Trump did handle COVID seriously: i.e., serious about exploiting COVID for political advantage, not about fighting and defeating COVID itself. In fact, the difference is that in the first instance, keeping COVID alive and kicking is the goal.

I think the main issue with the call last night is that, left to its own devices, the ball would have bounced back into play. It’s not as though it one-bounced over the fence on its own. It went over because a player pushed it over. So I could envision Baseball revisiting the rule on that basis. On the other hand, when a ball bounces off a fielders head and over the fence, it’s ruled a home run, even though left to its own devices the ball would have bounced off the fence or warning track. So there’s that precedent, too. I don’t have a strong opinion on it either way. I’d be fine with it bring either 100% ground rule double or replay umpire discretion.

Jeimer deserves to get paid.

Abject collapse at the end, here.

I don’t see how allowing COVID to run wild by denying its very existence, shedding tens of millions of jobs from the economy, opening cozying up the foreign dictators, denying his own administration’s intelligence services, appointing obviously dangerously unqualified people (including family) to top jobs in his administration, openly encouraging violent racists to act, accepting emoluments because of his position as President, calling political opponents middle-school insult names, pitting states against each other for government relief, withdrawing from key international treaties, openly undermining an election still in progress, and promoting a general policy of maximizing cruelty toward people different from himself, qualifies him as being “the lesser of two evils”.

I believe moderate Republicans, such as they are, are looking for any way to excuse January 6 as a mere protest, so they can get on board and vote Trump with their consciences clear.

Not a problem for me. I have pretty long legs so I was never able to find shorts that went below the knee, even gym shorts when that was a thing.

I have a wedding reception to attend at a bar next Saturday. They’re are softball teammates of mine so there will be a few of us on the team there, mixing in with family and close friends. The couple say we can wear anything we want, although they will be dressed in their wedding garb. Since I will not have attended the ceremony itself, and I am not myself family, I’m thinking a suit and tie for a reception in a bar may be a little much, so I’m leaning towards button shirt and jacket, no tie, nice jeans, sensible black shoes. Sound right to you?

Best of everything to you and Mrs. Cruzer. Cancer is a bastard and I hope she beats it.

Granting that all this is correct, I still wonder whether this can be fixed by improved coaching, or whether this is necessarily as good as can be expected. Maybe Santiago is not the guy to fix them. Maybe there’s someone better at it who could fix them. And maybe, as you imply, they can’t be fixed no matter who works with them. Who knows. I do know this: we have to improve our defense enough so that we are not literally the worst offense in the league. Because if we remain so, we probably won’t go very far even with above average hitting and FIP.

They made the D grotesquely big one season, then reduced it about 2/3 the way back the next. Not quite all the way back.